Many municipalities are setting ambitious tree canopy cover goals to increase the extent of their urban forests. A historical perspective on urban forest development can help cities strategize how to establish and achieve appropriate tree cover targets. To understand how long-term urban forest change occurs, we examined the history of trees on an urban college campus: the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, PA. Using a mixed methods approach, including qualitative assessments of archival records (1870-2017), complemented by quantitative analysis of tree cover from aerial imagery (1970-2012), our analysis revealed drastic canopy cover increase in the late 20th and early 21st centuries along with the principle mechanisms of that change...

INTRODUCTION AND HYPOTHESIS: The purpose was to determine if pre-operative guided imagery (GIM) would help women to feel more prepared, less anxious, and have higher satisfaction scores 6 weeks after surgery compared with routine care. METHODS: Eligible women planning to undergo pelvic floor surgery were enrolled and randomized. The GIM group received an institution-specific CD that uses GIM to detail day of surgery (DOS) events and expectations. Participants were asked to listen to the CD once daily during the week before surgery...

OBJECTIVE: To examine the role of psychosocial interventions in improving patient-reported clinical outcomes, including return to sport/activity, and intermediary psychosocial factors after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction. METHODS: MEDLINE/PubMed, CINAHL, PsycINFO, and Web of Science were searched from each database's inception to March 2017 for published studies in patients after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction. Studies were included if they reported on the effects of a postoperative psychosocial intervention on a patient-reported clinical measure of disability, function, pain, quality of life, return to sport/activity, or intermediary psychosocial factor...

BACKGROUND: Pregnant women hospitalized with preterm labor (PTL) complications experience increased stress. Prior researchers have attempted to provide stress management strategies with use of various media players to deliver stress coping interventions. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine the efficacy of a mobile device delivered stress coping app designed to reduce stress in a sample of high-risk pregnant women hospitalized with complications of PTL...

Spatial analysis of epiphytotics is essential to develop and test hypotheses about pathogen ecology, disease dynamics, and to optimize plant disease management strategies. Data collection for spatial analysis requires substantial investment in time to depict patterns in various frames and hierarchies. We developed a new approach for spatial analysis of pixelated data in digital imagery and incorporated the method in a stand-alone desktop application called Cluster. The user isolates target entities (clusters) by designating up to 24 pixel colors as nontargets and moves a threshold slider to visualize the targets...

The purpose of this randomized wait-list controlled trial was to test the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of a guided imagery based multi-behavior intervention intended to address psychological stress, food cravings, and physical activity. Personalized guided imagery scripts were created and participants were instructed to practice guided imagery every day for 35 consecutive days. Of 48 women who enrolled, we report comparisons between 16 randomized to treatment with 19 who were wait-listed (overall Mage = 45...

Gait imagery and gait observation can boost the recovery of locomotion dysfunctions; yet, a neurologically justified rationale for their clinical application is lacking as much as a direct comparison of their neural correlates. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we measured the neural correlates of explicit motor imagery of gait during observation of in-motion videos shot in a park with a steady cam (Virtual Walking task). In a 2 × 2 factorial design, we assessed the modulatory effect of gait observation and of foot movement execution on the neural correlates of the Virtual Walking task: in half of the trials, the participants were asked to mentally imitate a human model shown while walking along the same route (mental imitation condition); moreover, for half of all the trials, the participants also performed rhythmic ankle dorsiflexion as a proxy for stepping movements...

Constraints on soil moisture can guide agricultural practices, act as input into weather, flooding and climate models and inform water resource policies. Space-based interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) observations provide near-global coverage, even in the presence of clouds, of proxies for soil moisture derived from the amplitude and phase content of radar imagery. We describe results from a 1.5 year-long InSAR time series spanning the March, 2015 extreme precipitation event in the hyperarid Atacama desert of Chile, constraining the immediate increase in soil moisture and drying out over the following months, as well as the response to a later, smaller precipitation event...

BACKGROUND: Peripheral immune system cytokines may play an integral role in the underlying sensitized stress response and alcohol craving during early alcohol withdrawal. To date, the nature of these immune changes during early abstinence have not been examined. METHODS: A total of 39 early abstinent, treatment-seeking, alcohol-dependent individuals and 46 socially drinking controls were exposed to three guided imageries: stress, alcohol cue and neutral. These were presented randomly across consecutive days...

BACKGROUND: Nightmares are extremely dysphoric dreams, which are prevalent and associated with psychological strain. This study investigated (a) the efficacy of an internet-based imagery rehearsal therapy (IRT), (b) the role of imagery rescription, and (c) the role of guidance during internet-based IRT. METHODS: A total of 127 patients suffering from mainly idiopathic nightmares were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 IRT internet-based groups (guided IRT; unguided IRT) or to 1 of 2 active control groups (frequency control group; narrative control group)...

The aim of this study was to analyze the influence of a biofeedback relaxation training program on anxiety and academic performance. The program consisted of five biofeedback sessions coupled with three training activities focused on deep breathing, guided imagery, and muscle relaxation. The participants were second-year psychology undergraduates from the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU, northern Spain). The experimental group comprised 152 students (M age = 19.6, SD = 0.74; 74% women) and the control group 81 students (M age = 19...

BACKGROUND: Affective learning is valued in nursing, but it is often difficult to plan and evaluate learning activities in this domain. Contemplative activities can promote learning and are relatively easy to implement. These activities can promote deep, reflective thinking. METHOD: A variety of contemplative activities were used in undergraduate nursing courses. Students participated in and reflected on a vigil promoting domestic violence awareness. They attended two different art exhibits and related these exhibits to nursing...

Critical care environments are known for provoking anxiety, pain, and sleeplessness. Often, these symptoms are attributed to patients' underlying physiological conditions; life-sustaining or life-prolonging treatments such as ventilators, invasive procedures, tubes, and monitoring lines; and noise and the fast-paced technological nature of the critical care environment. This, in turn, possibly increases length of stay and morbidity and challenges the recovery and healing of critically ill patients. Complementary therapies can be used as adjunctive therapies alongside pharmacological interventions and modalities...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Due to the increasing number of elderly and an increase in the number of cases of cancer by age, cancer is a common problem in the elderly. For elderly patients with cancer, the disease and its treatment can have long-term negative effects on their quality of life (QoL). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of progressive muscle relaxation, body image and deep diaphragmatic breathing on the QoL in the elderly with cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study was a randomized controlled trial in which 50 elderly patients with breast or prostate cancer were randomized into study and control groups...

BACKGROUND: The regular update of the guidelines on fibromyalgia syndrome, AWMF number 145/004, was scheduled for April 2017. METHODS: The guidelines were developed by 13 scientific societies and 2 patient self-help organizations coordinated by the German Pain Society. Working groups (n =8) with a total of 42 members were formed balanced with respect to gender, medical expertise, position in the medical or scientific hierarchy and potential conflicts of interest...

The majority of non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) research has used self- or clinician-rated measures of behavior which (a) are subject to reporting biases, or (b) have limited use in experimental designs that could illuminate causal relationships. Laboratory-based behavioral tasks have therefore been developed to assess NSSI-related behaviors more directly. We reviewed the behavioral methods that have been developed to assess NSSI tendencies or behaviors over the past 30 years. Several categories of laboratory analogues were identified: NSSI-related stimuli (e...